Towel dispensing and storage cabinet



Aug. 21, 1928. 1,681,840

A. E. CARLSON TOWEL DISPENSING AND SIORAGE CABINET Filed May 11, 1926 2Sheets-Sheet 1 .HIIHHHH E- /J t WITNES ES ATTORNEYS Aug. 21, 1928.1,681,840

A. E. CARLSON TOWEL DISPENSING AND STORAGE CABINET Filed May 11, 1926 2Sheets-Sheet 2 0| WITNESSES JZ ZI QVENEOR l an saw I, 4+ -1 J l BY 1:AT] ORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALVIN E. CARIJSON, OI NEVIS, MINNESOTA.

TOWEL DISPENSING AND STORAGE CABINET.

Application filed May 11,

The present invention is concerned with the provision of a cabinetadapted to proyrde ample storage space for all of the necessities of thetoilet, such for instance as paper towels, toilet paper, liquid soap,disinfectants, brushes, and which will at the same t1me serve as a.dispensing device for the paper towels.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of thischaracter which will be of simple, practical construction, which will berugged and durable in use, which will be entirely fireproof, and whichmay be manufactured with comparative economy.

A further object of the invention is to provide an altogether sanitarycabinet which. may serve to store several hundred towels, as well asother toilet accessories, and which at the same time may serve toaccommodate a concealed waste basket for soiled towels.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a towel dispensingmechanism from which the towels may be readily manually removed withoutbinding or jamming.

l/Vith the above noted and other objects in View, the invention consistsin certain novel features of construction and combinations andarrangements of parts, as will be more fully hereinafter set forth andpointed out in the claim. The invention may be more fully understoodfrom the following description in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein- Fig. 1 is a View in vertical section through mycombined storage and dispensing cabinet on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the cabinet showing the doorswung open.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating four of the towels foldedtogether.

The cabinet which forms the subject matter of the present application ispreferably of metal construction, and similar in general contour to theordinary steel locker or filing cabinet. The device is relatively tall,and of approximately squarecross section including a rear wall 10, sidewalls 11, top wall 12, bottom 13, and a door 14 at the front hinged at15 to one side of the cabinet. The cabinet may be mounted upon the usualsupporting feet 16.

The means for housing the paper towels 17 to be dispensed is carried bythe back of the door 14 at the upper end of the latter, and

1928. Serial No. 108,369.

behind the towel dispensing com artment there may be arranged a seriesof s elves 18 and 19 for the reception of other materials to be stored,such for instance as cleaning implements, soap, an additional towelsupply, etc. The lower half of the cabinet is occupied by a removablewaste basket 20, into which soiled towels are adapted to be insertedthrough a hinged flap 20 connected to the towel dispensing means in amanner to be later described.

The towel dispensing chamber or compartment includes an inclined bottomwall 21 rigidly connected to the door 14 at the upper edge of arectangular opening 22 in the door. The bottom 21 inclines downwardlyfrom its forward edge, and at its rear lower corners, the lower cornersof a hinged back 24 are pivotally connected thereto as at 23, andnormally retained in vertical position by a spring finger 25 engagingits free upper edge. The sides of the towel compartment are open,lateral movement of the towels being prevented by rails 26 and 27carried by the door 14 and the back 24'of the towel compartmentrespectively.

I have illustrated inFig. 5, four of the towels 17 folded in theconventional manner. It will be noted that the towels are formed wlthsingle transverse folds 17 defining a pair of flaps 17 b which enterbetween the flaps of superadjaeent and subjaeent towels of the stack.This manner of folding is conventional, and when one towel is removed bygrasping the flap 17 thereof which projects downwardly through a slot 30in the partitlon 21, it will carry with it the lower flap of the towelimmediatel thereabove, and expose this flap in position or pulling whenanother towel is needed.

When loading the towel dispensing compartment, the door 14 is swung openand the hinged rear plate 24 of the compartment is swung downwardly tothe position of Fig. 4, at which time a stack of towels may be emplacedon the bottom partition 21 of the compartment. I find however, thatinstead of placing them directly on the bottom partition, it isadvisable to provide a narrow supporting shelf 31 attached to the back24 of the compartment. This shelf supports one edge of the stack, and aspring finger 32 carried by the door 14 supports the other edge of thestack. Thus, when the back 24 is swung to vertical position and lockedby the spring finger 25 as shown in Fig. 1, the towels at the Ill) lowerend of the stack will be crowded and somewhat bowed downwardly by thefinger 32, so that the feeding action is more positive, so that a slighttension is exerted on the lower towels, and so that a direct pull on thelowermosttowel is had.

The lowermost shelf 19 at the rear of the compartment preferably carriesat its forward edge, an upwardly presented partition member 35 toprotect the contents of the shelf, and also to serve as a stop for therearwardly swinging movement of the flap 20. This flap is hinged at itsupper edge to the partition member 23 by a spring hinge 36, and ismanually swung downwardly and inwardly to permit the insertion of asoiled towel into the removable waste basket or hopper 20.

The likelihood of a towel becoming jammed or torn in the slot is remote,but in order to guard against such a contingency, I associate a pair ofdownwardly extending curved guide members 38 with the slot, and cut awaythe real" guide members centrally at 39, so that if a towel does jam inthe slot, it may be manually grasped and removed.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that I have provideda combination storage and dispensing cabinet which is V the invention.Hence I do not wish to limit' myself to the details set forth, but shallconsider myself at liberty to make such changes and alterations asfairly fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A cabinet of the class described including a door at the front thereof,a holder vfor a stack of towels to be dispensed mounted on the back ofthe door, and including a bottom having a slot therein through which thetowels are drawn, said door having an open ing therein exposing theslotted bottom of the towel holder, and a flap hinged to the bottom ofthe towel holder and spring pressed against the door, said flap beingmanually depressible to permit the insertion of soiled towels into thebottom of the cabinet.

ALVIN E. GARLSON.

